Our last day in Nouméa started with a quick trip to Carrefour, a huge shop which is a little like Coles and Big W combined, but with so much more choice of everything, particularly food. It’s just amazing and I could get lost in there for hours at a time, not buying much, but just looking at the variety of produce available.

It was quite busy at Carrefour and, while I was waiting at the checkout (‘la caisse’), a woman tried to, not so subtly, push in front of me. It provided the perfect opportunity for me to try my french out and suggest she go to the back of the queue.   ‘Pardon madam, mais j’étais ici avant toi’. She wasn’t having any of it though, avoided all eye contact and pretended I hadn’t said anything at all. 

What to do?? J’avais rien.  Since I’d exhausted my ability to argue further, in french at least, I didn’t know what else to say. Aidez-moi! Very fortunately the french woman behind me came to the rescue and Madam Pushy ambled off muttering goodness know’s what. I admit to feeling just a little bit proud of myself though, for at least attempting to head her off at the pass!

We had planned to go,  after our shopping at Carrefour,  to a local fete at Dumbéa which boasted, amongst many other things,  ‘une omelette géante’, made with 700 eggs. Apparently it’s very famous in the area and  taken particularly  seriously. So seriously in fact, that the queue to see this ‘énorme omelette’ was miles long!  It was boiling hot weather and none of us were prepared to wait in the queue in the hope there would be some of this amazing omelette left to see, so we decided to hightail it back to our house in Dumbéa (our ‘classroom’ for the week) to prepare the food for our farewell BBQ that evening.  We made Clafoutis aux Prunes, Tarte aux Pommes and salade verte. 

After all this  exertion, there  was nothing  else for it, but  to  sit on the  deck, drink in  both the view and some wine and eat lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

Free time for  a  few hours  followed and I  headed into Place des  Cocotiers in  the town centre with Anne, another french student in our group,  to see what there was to see and just have a wander about.

One  tahitian pearl later and very happy  with my purchase, we headed back to the hotel to have get ready for our own ‘petite  fête’.

Great music, delicious food, good wine and  lovely people meant  it was a great ending  to a fantastic few days  in Nouméa, with  people who started the  trip as  acquaintances, but finished as  friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

À la prochaine, Nouméa….